Fairy tales get a naughty surprise in this book.  That's what I like about it.  It takes traditional fairy tales like the frog prince and adds a spin to it with a naughty fairy who steals the princess before the prince can kiss her and locks her away in a tower. 

A very cute story for kids of any age.

What I like about this book is that it's for girls who don't want to be princesses. This is a book for girls who like to wear sneakers and get dirty in the mud. This one is for those tomboys out there.  I was a tomboy growing up and I hated wearing dresses. Even now, I'm a sneakers/jeans girl and I found myself at 32 relating to this character.

What I also like are the sketches. They are rough and ragid and not clean cut because the last thing this character is is clean cut. I think many girls out  there will be able to relate to this story.

Here's the odd part about this adaptation: the movie came first.  In this instance, the book was adapted based on the screenplay, yet I still liked the book better.  Maybe this is further proof that I am a book person. 

Now for my list. What I liked better in the book:

1. Valerie age seven: Except for one scene, the movie left out everything we know about Valerie when she was seven, including her brush with the wolf. It's this encounter that marks Valerie as an outsider in the village. It's what makes them turning on her a bit more believable.
   
2. Our Woodcutter: Yes, he still captures Valerie's heart in both the movie and book. It's their encounters that give us the romance we so love in stories. However, their journey to this romance is a bit different. Absence makes the heart grow founder in the book as our two lovers are separated for years and reunite one dark night. 
3. The secret identity of the wolf: Throughout the entire story, we're unsure of who the wolf is.  Could it be the handsome blacksmith or the bad boy woodcutter?  The book left it a mystery while the movie revealed all in the end.
   
4. Valerie's ability to hear the wolf: The movie gave the answer to this and while it was nice to know, I think I still prefer not knowing. The book left that aspect alone which just added more to the mystery of the wolf: who he is and why she was so connected to him?

Now, for the surprise ending. While the book may have ended with an unsolved mystery, readers can go to the website and read the bonus chapter. This bonus chapter reveals who the wolf is and matches the ending we see in the movie. However, it still doesn't transition well from how the book ended. After all, she never did grab the hand in the book. In my opinion, I think I still prefer the mystery.  What do you think: http://www.redridinghoodbook.com/?